Telegraph-key.



G. BOLIU-K. TELEGRAPH KEY.

APPLICATION TILED DEC. 30, 1910.

987,1 07, Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

llliiiimm-i'liiii llllllllllllllliliiHllllHJI IINHI Inventor Witnesses V v I by W Attorneys 5 cu. wksrlmaron, n. c.

CHARLES BOLICK, OF ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA.

TELE GRAPH-KEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 30, 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

Serial No. 600,168.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES BoLIoK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rocky Mount, in the county of Edgecombe and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Telegraph-Key, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to telegraphy, and more especially to keys; and the object of the same is to produce an improved attachment for the ordinary Morse key by means of which the thumb lever or switch thereof will be prevented from becoming accidentally knocked open or closed.

To this end the invention consists in a base adapted to be attached to the support alongside the key, and a spring latch carried on the base and provided with a flange to hold the switch lever when open and a lip by means of which the latch can be depressed, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a plan view of an ordinary Morse key with this attachment beside it, the switch lever being shown in full lines as closed and in dotted lines as open. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of the attachment, and Fig. 4: is a section on the line L 4: of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the letter K designates broadly the ordinary key new in common use by telegraphers throughout the country, and L is the thumb lever or switch pivoted at P. to the base of the key, standing in contact with a tongue T when it is closed, and having an ordinary handle H rising from its front end. It is well known that when the key K is to be used this lever L is opened by the operator so as to break the circuit which is otherwise closed when the lever stands in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. I have found by experience that this lever is often accidentally knocked open, and in some cases its pivot may be so loose that a jar on the desk or tablewill dislodge it from beneath the tongue T, and thereby the line is opened without the knowledge of the operator and confusion and difiiculty result.

The purpose of the present invention is to produce an attachment which may be applied to the desk or support alongside t e key now in common use, without altering the structure of the latter and even without removing it from place, and which will aiford means for automatically locking this lever in its closed position so that the contingency above mentioned will not arise.

Coming now to the present invel'ition, the numeral 5 designates a base as of wood or the like secured by screws (3 or otherwise to the table top or support, and by preference this base has a curved contour conforming with the outline of the key K as shown in Fig. 1 so that the lever L in its movements will swing over the base 5. Throughout the length of the latter is a groove 6 in which lies a spring latch 7 secured at its rear end to the base by screws 8 or otherwise so that its front end is free. The upper face of the base is cut away at its front end as at 9, leaving shoulders 10 across it, and the latch 7 extends loosely between these cut away portions and the shoulders and normally stands a little above the cut away portions. At its front ends said latch has a head 11 whereby in general plan view it is rendered T-shaped except that the shank of the T is curved slightly although this is only a preferable detail, and at the extreme front end of said head it is turned up into a flange 12. The shoulders 16 and flange 12 by preference stand at angles across the base 5 corresponding with the inner and outer edges of the lever L, and spaced apart a distance equal to at least the width of said lever, with the flange 12 so situated as to hold the lever L out of contact with the tongue T and hence keep the line broken. At the front end of said head 11 is a lip 13 preferably formed by continuing the metal of the latch 7 as best seen in Fig. 3 and deflecting it slightly downward and rounding its front end, thereby leaving a slight hump 1 1 over which the bottom of the lever L will slide in case the lip is not depressed when the key is opened.

In use the attachment is applied as shown in Fig. 1, and the key stands closed as usual. When the operator is ready to use his key he presses his thumb on the lip 13 and his fingers grasp the handle H and move it to the dotted line position, thereby carrying the lever L from under the tongue T in a well known manner. Even if he should not depress the lip 13, the lever in its movement rides over the'hump 14. When it reaches its outermost position it strikes the shoulders 10, but as soon as it passes over the flange 12 the free end of the latch 7 rises so that the flange hooks under the inner edge of the lever and the latter is held against return movement. Thus it will be seen that by the use of this attachment the ordinary switch lever cannot be accidentally knocked in either direction.

What is claimed as new is 1-- 1. The herein described attachment for telegraph keys, the same comprising a base adapted to be mounted alongside the base of the key and provided with a groove in its upper face and cut away at its front end to produce transverse shoulders extending across said groove, a substantially T-shaped spring latch whose shank lies in said groove and extends between the cut-away portions, whose head has an upturned flange extending across the front end of said base, and whose flange is continued thence forward into a lip, and means for securing the rear end of the latch within said groove.

2. The herein described attachment for telegraph keys, the same comprising a base provided in its upper face with a curved groove and cut-away at its front end to produce transverse shoulders extending across said groove, a substantially T-shaped spring latch having a curved shank lying in said groove and a straight head extending across the front end of the base and bent upward into a flange, thence humped and deflected, and finally extended forward into a lip, means for securing said base in close proximity to and on a level with the base of the key, and means for securing the rear end of said latch within the rear end of said groove.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES BOLIGK.

Witnesses:

PAUL B. KYsER, FRANK D. OULPEPPER.

Copies of this patent mav be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatents, Washington, I). C. 

